Review: Star Walk by Melissa Bowersock

Genre: Mystery/Supernatural/Ghosts

Description:

“Ex-cop Lacey Fitzpatrick and Navajo medium Sam Firecloud are working a new investigation into paranormal activity. This time they’re called to clear an old Hollywood mansion of the multiple ghostly tenants that are threatening the home owner’s livelihood. At the same time, however, Lacey gets a call from her ex-boyfriend, now prison inmate, for help in a more earthly manner. He fears his sister is siphoning money from his elderly mother, and only Lacey can find out the truth. Between saving her ex’s mother from bankruptcy and researching deep into the families of the tortured souls haunting the mansion, Lacey finds the revelations of family dynamics to be both fatally flawed and heartbreakingly inspired.”

Author:

“Melissa Bowersock is an eclectic, award-winning author who writes in a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres: biography, contemporary, western, action, romance, fantasy, paranormal and spiritual. She has been both traditionally and independently published and is a regular contributor to the superblog Indies Unlimited. She lives in a small community in northern Arizona with her husband and an Airedale terrier. She also writes under the pen name Amber Flame.”

Learn more about Ms. Bowersock on her website or follow her onFacebook.

Appraisal:

An old haunted Hollywood mansion is being rejuvenated and the owner has enlisted Sam Firecloud’s help in clearing the spirits out. To do this he needs Lacey Fitzpatrick’s investigative skills to figure out who is haunting the mansion. Sam feels two different spirits who are haunting different areas of the house and both have stories to tell, which date back to the early days of Hollywood.

I loved the way this story unfolds. It was like watching a mystery on screen with clips of old black and white movie footage from the past as Lacey pieces together what’s going on. And since Lacey and Sam both have day jobs they could only be at the house on the weekends. That was frustrating to me, like having to watch commercial’s, because I couldn’t fast-forward through their week. I know Lacy needed time to do research and then let her findings stew in her head while she tried to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, but still…

I like the way Lacey and Sam are starting to read each other better. It’s like they are syncing. There is a lot more story here than the ghosts and Ms. Bowersock is able to seamlessly weave in a story arc that involves Lacey’s ex-fiancé, who is still serving time in prison. I also appreciate the inclusion of Sam’s two children and what’s going on in their lives. This brings a realistic feel of family to the whole series. Nicely done, Ms. Bowersock. I am really enjoying this series and looking forward to Dream Walk.

My dream for Lacey and Sam to both become independently wealthy so their ghostbusting could be a fulltime job together. I know that is not very realistic but I am a paranormal romance lover… 

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

  

FYI:

Star Walk is the third book in A Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery series. Book one is Ghost Walk, book two is Skin Walk. Each of these mysteries could be read as a standalone if you choose. However, I am enjoying the relationship developing between Lacey and Sam and recommend reading from the beginning to get the full benefit of this storyline.

Format/Typo Issues:

My review is based on a beta, pre-release version. I am unable to judge the final version in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Review: Fairy Bite by Maria Schneider

Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Young Adult

Description:

“Shunned and ridiculed ever since a fairy mistakenly bit her, Ally leaves her village knowing it's the only way her family can resume their normal lives and be respected. She heads to Wendal, hoping the shifters there won’t care about the little problems associated with the effects of a fairy bite.

Before she is even halfway there, she discovers that the fairies may not be finished ruining her life. If she wants to leave Birk, she’ll first have to contend with the little people, a very ornery gargoyle, more than one prince and, of all things, an enraged dragon.”

Author:

“Maria saw her first dragon while gardening. She asked the gnome to take pictures, but dragons are shy and very fast. One of the fairies finally snapped a shot, but just as she handed it over, the dragon came by and flamed it to ashes! Neither of us wants to get our fingers burned a second time so, sadly, there will not be pictures any time soon!”

To learn more please visit Ms. Schneider’s website.

Appraisal:

Because of the fairy bite Ally got at age eight, she can sense and borrow magic from others. She also describes herself as ugly with distorted features due to the fairy bite. It took me a while to warm up to her, she seemed so pathetically withdrawn. Because of Ally’s situation or status for the last twelve years she grew up with no friends. Being a loner she is also a deep thinker, logical, and smart. The first friend she makes is Landry, a brownie, who is on a mission to find a gargoyle to collect on a “boon” (a term for favor or request) to free his family from slavery and abuse in Prince Kal’s prison near Anton. Prince Kal has declared every magical creature is his own.

The plot moves at a nice pace as the small band tries to overcome the nullifying magic of Prince Kal’s wizard. The rescue of all the shifters that have been captured is a far bigger job than expected. Prince Kal is nasty piece of work and his wizard is diabolical. The dialogue fits the story and all the characters remain true to themselves and grow accordingly. The twists are fast, furious, and unexpected. Fairy Bite is an engrossing, unique story, which is cleverly woven together, that goes above and beyond what I expected.

Buy now from:            Amazon US       Amazon UK

FYI:

Fairy Bite is book three in the Dragons of Wendal series. I think book three could be read as a standalone. However, I highly recommend the whole series.  

Format/Typo Issues:

Nothing significant.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Reprise Review: The Mysterious Case of the Golden Egg by Ernie Lindsey

Genre: Middle Grade/Young Adult/Mystery

Description:

“The sudden and unexpected arrival of a mysterious package interrupts Hat Tintersmoot’s twelfth birthday. Where did it come from? Who left it? Once she discovers that the small cardboard box is a gift from her Grandpa Gordon, the mystery deepens...considering the fact that he passed away three years ago.

The handwritten note reads, ‘Inside this box is an impossible mystery that only the purest of hearts can ever hope to uncover. Solve it, and you will discover the answer to one of the greatest secrets ever.’

It’s another perfect job for the owner of The Marshmallow Hammer Detective Agency. With the help of a new best friend, and her first official employee, Hat must uncover the truth behind five difficult clues in order to find the answer to the greatest secret ever.”

Author:

An author of primarily mystery and suspense for adults, Ernie Lindsey has at least ten novels and numerous short stories available. His book Sara’s Game was on the USA Today bestseller list and reached #2 on the Kindle Bestseller list. A native of the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, Lindsey and his family now make their home in Oregon.

For more, visit the author’s website or follow Mr. Lindsey onFacebook.

Appraisal:

Twelve year-old Halcyone Acasia Tintersmoot, known as “Hat” (her initials and the thing you wear on your head). She has this nickname for the obvious reason that her real name is a mouthful. She’s the owner of “The Marshmallow Hammer Detective Agency.” You won’t find it in the phone book, but it is as real as it gets, at least to Hat. Although this is the first book in the series, Hat mentions other cases she’s worked on and sometimes solved.  “The Case of the Disappearing Toothbrush,” is one. You’ve probably worked a case like that one yourself. “The Mysterious Case of the Cute Boy on the School Bus” is an open case that Hat manages to solve while working on the current case.

When I read and review children’s books, I’ll sometimes draft The Princess, my now eleven year-old granddaughter, to assist. Our process is for her to read a book first, then tell me what she thought, with likes, dislikes, and a letter grade, just like a report card. I’ll then read the book so I can add my impressions while watching for the things The Princess has mentioned. I think The Mysterious Case of the Golden Egg received the most accolades of any book we’ve done this with. Her report to me started with “I liked this a lot” and ended with, “I’d give it a grade of A plus, plus, plus …” I finally told her I got the idea so she’d stop with the pluses.

The mystery to be solved was set up by Hat’s grandfather, who died three years earlier. Before he died, which he knew was coming, he’d arranged for Hat to receive the first clue on her twelfth birthday. Grandpa Gordon was a private detective and liked to talk to Hat about his cases, which was Hat’s inspiration to become a detective. One of the comments The Princess made was that the mystery wasn’t like some, where you found out the solution, and felt cheated that the clues weren’t there to solve it while reading. She felt the clues were tough, but also liked that many of them she was able to figure out. The mystery hit the right balance for the age the book is aimed for. The Princess also thought the book would be fun to read aloud to younger kids and although it would be an easy read for an adult, she thought “even a grownup would like it.”

The Princess was right. I was surprised at how much I liked this book. The clues were fun to try and figure out, and not too easy, even for someone several times older than the target reader. As Hat works her way through the clues she meets and helps several of her Grandpa’s friends (an aspect of the book The Princess also thought important enough to mention) and in doing so learns a lot of life lessons that Grandpa knew he wouldn’t be around to teach her in person. The Princess and I both hope the author continues this series. It’s off to a great start.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Added for Reprise Review: The Mysterious Case of the Golden Egg was the winner in the Children's/Middle Grade category for B&P 2015 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran September 23, 2014.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl with input from The Princess

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Review: Closest to the Fire by Karen A. Wyle

Genre: Non-Fiction

Description:

“Write about the law -- and get it right!

Learn your way around the legal landscape!

The world of law and lawyers, with its suspense, its moral quandaries, and its ripped-from-the-headlines subject matter, provides wonderful material for fiction. This guide will help writers explore these many story possibilities -- while avoiding the also-numerous pitfalls awaiting the unwary author. It can also serve as an overall reference for law and prelaw students, or for anyone wishing to understand more about the American legal system.

Included throughout the book are ideas for stories or story elements based on the content and available for the readers' use.”

Author:

“Karen A. Wyle was born a Connecticut Yankee, but eventually settled in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University. She now considers herself a Hoosier. Wyle's childhood ambition was to be the youngest ever published novelist. While writing her first novel at age 10, she was mortified to learn that some British upstart had beaten her to the goal at age 9.

Wyle is an appellate attorney, photographer, political junkie, and mother of two daughters.”

Appraisal:

Closest to the Fire is positioned as a guide to help authors keep situations involving US law in their fiction reasonably credible. The author even throws out ideas and suggestions for how a particular legal principle might be used in a compelling story to good effect for readers who are inclined to take the idea and run with it. I spotted more than a few of those suggestions that I’d like to read. The only problem for me is that I’m not an author and odds of me ever writing a book that is fiction are worse than the odds of me winning the lottery (and I never buy lottery tickets).

However, as I’ve said more than once in online discussions, I’m not a lawyer, but I often play one on the internet. The law and the legal system is something that’s always interested me. I’ve read more than my share of legal thrillers by Turow, Gresham, and Rebecca Forster, among many others. While I’m not sure most people want to dive in and read this from virtual cover to virtual cover like I did since it is designed more as a reference than an entertaining read, I suspect there are others out there beyond the target audience who might find this worth reading. If you think you might find it interesting, I’d bet you will.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 210-215,000 words

Review: Isolation by M.P. McDonald

Genre: Thriller/Post-Apocalyptic

Description:

“Cole Evans thought he'd found a safe haven for his family and a growing band of survivors of the most lethal virus the world has ever known. But he finds continued survival is far from guaranteed as they battle hostile encounters with other survivors, nature, and devastating accidents. Are they prepared to survive their first brutal Wisconsin winter after the rest of the world has perished?”

Author:

“M.P. McDonald makes a living from taking your breath away... then giving it back via a tube or two. She lives in a frozen land full of ice, snow, and abominable snowmen. On the days that she's not taking her car ice-skating, she sits huddled over a chilly computer, tapping out the story of a camera that can see the future. She hopes it can see summer approaching, too.”

Appraisal:

The premise of this series is a virus that wiped out many, maybe most, of the world’s population. This band of survivors believe they’ve outlasted the virus although they still take precautions in many situations. In this second volume of the series they’ve survived the initial problems and are trying to figure out the long term.

I found the world they’re living in, the premise, and the things they have to work out an interesting mind exercise to go through with them. Of course, there is much more than planning involved as accidents happen, plus other survivors pop up from time to time and it isn’t clear who is friend and who foe. Not to mention the issues involved in a Wisconsin winter. I’m looking forward to the next in the series to see where things go from here.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI

While the second book in the series, this can be read as a standalone and still understood. (I haven’t read the first in the series and it was not a problem.)

Format/Typo Issues:

The review is based on a pre-release beta copy of the book, so I can’t judge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words

Review: The Beatrice Curse by Geoffrey Sleight

Genre: Thriller/Occult/Mystery/Ghosts

Description:

“Beatrice was burned at the stake in 1763, accused of witchcraft. In the agonising moments of her death she uttered a curse that would come to haunt her village every hundred years. When an aspiring writer arrives in the village seeking peace and inspiration, he is drawn into a web of mysterious secrets on the anniversary of her burning. Beatrice is rising and soon the young man finds himself the target for her terror.”

Author:

Geoffrey Sleight is a British novelist who writes paranormal mystery thrillers. He has six other books, including The Beatrice Curse II. Feel free to check out Mr. Sleight’s other books on his Amazon author page.

Appraisal:

In the glory days of the 1960s in London, England, Mark Roberts aspires to be a novelist. To do this he needs to leave the hustle and bustle of London. With the blessings of his parents he finds a cottage to rent for a month in a remote small village. Note to authors: if you wish to try this, check out the village’s history first.

The characters are all well-defined, realistic, and diverse. This village does not accept strangers easily. However, Mark is able to make a few friends. Unsuspecting Mark arrives in the village a week before the town’s yearly celebration of Beatrice’s burning at the stake. This year is especially auspicious because it’s the two-hundredth anniversary of Beatrice’s burning and the casting of her curse. According to legend the curse states Beatrice will rise from the dead every hundred years to wreak vengeance on the village.

The dialogue is realistic and engaging. Mark’s curiosity gets him into trouble quite often as events begin occurring, which distracts him from concentrating on his novel. The plot moves at a good pace and the scenes are well staged with several twists to keep the reader on the edge of their seats.

I do have a couple of nit-picks though with repetition, which gets tiresome. I don’t need to be told umpteen times that Malcolm is Barbara’s fiancée. Or that Josh is the woodskeeper. They are both very memorable people. I’m sure there were more but these two jumped out at me.

The Beatrice Curse has a bit more of a horror element than I generally read. However, I did enjoy this creepy story. I think anyone who enjoys the intensity of suspense mysteries will enjoy The Beatrice Curse.

Now I need to go enjoy a normal romance novel.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

  

FYI:

Mr. Slight uses British English and slang. There is adult sexual content, graphic violence, and a small number of F-bombs. For those interested there is a book two for you to jump right into after reading The Beatrice Curse.

Format/Typo Issues:

I came across some proofing errors. Mostly missing words, a few wrong words, and extra words.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Reprise Review: No Perfect Secret by Jackie Weger

Genre: Romance

Description:

When Anna’s husband of ten years, Kevin, dies while overseas on business, it raises some red flags at the State Department. Anna assumes the government is concerned because Kevin is an international courier, but it’s more complicated than that. The story follows Anna as she tries to piece together her life after Kevin’s death.

Author:

An award-winning author, Jackie Weger has been writing romance novels off and on for thirty years. When she's writing, she's anchored in a tiny room with a desk, a chair and a cat. When not writing, blogging or chatting with fans, she's traipsing around the Internet searching for recipes, but much prefers to travel the good earth by foot, bus, canoe, sloop, mule, train, plane or pickup--and let somebody else do the cooking. Jackie's most popular book to date is The House on Persimmon Road. By popular demand The House on Persimmon Road is now available in paperback.

Appraisal:

Although this novel begins as a romance—Frank, the State department investigator assigned to Anna’s case becomes her love interest—it has a lot of depth and nuance. The mystery that surrounds her husband’s demise is revealed slowly, like multiple layers of skin being stripped from an onion. Even when I thought I’d “got it,” a sudden twist started me wondering again whether I had.

Anna and Frank worked well together as a couple—very different people, but their romantic connection never felt forced. Their obvious physical attraction is constantly challenged by their personal qualms about jumping into a relationship under such unfortunate circumstance.

But, for me, a series of colorful side characters made the book special. Although the storyline followed the romance between Anna and Frank, these neighbors and acquaintances were so varied, interesting, and complex that they kept me smiling, occasionally cringing, and engaged throughout.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Added for Reprise Review: No Perfect Secret was a nominee in the Romance category for B&P 2015 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran October 7, 2014

Format/Typo Issues:

Too few to mention.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: Pete Barber

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Review: The Sinner's Song Volume 1 Lust by Pamela Scott

Genre: Short Story Collection

Description:

“Everyone is capable of sin. You, me, the old woman on the bus in the seat across from you who nibbles a packet of cheese & onion every day, the woman in the business suit you see on the subway every day who’s always on her phone, the old woman who lives next door and never opens her curtains, even the chubby, red-faced, slightly balding man who’s usually ahead of you in the chippie queue every lunch time.”

This is the first book of a series the author will be releasing this year, one book a month for seven months (this one was released in February). Each book will focus on a different one of the seven deadly sins with 10 stories in each book.

Author:

“Pamela Scott lives in Glasgow, UK with her partner. Her poems and stories have been published in various magazines…”

For more, visit Ms. Scott’s website.

Appraisal:

Each of the 10 stories in this book focus on lust in its various forms. As you might expect of a collection like this, some of the stories are going to work better for any particular reader than others (your favorites will be different than mine), but overall the collection and stories are a solid effort that makes for a quick, enjoyable read.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

UK spelling conventions and slang.

Format/Typo Issues:

A few more proofing and copy editing issues than I’d like to see in a book of this length, but still in the borderline acceptable range.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 8-9,000 words

Review: Warped Ambition by Debbie S. TenBrink

Genre: Police Procedural/Mystery

Description:

“When the battered body of a teenage girl is found in a dumpster, Lieutenant Jo Riskin is called to take the case. Investigating with her partner, Detective Lynae Parker, Jo uncovers secrets, loyalties, and ambitions that give motives to a surprising number of suspects, including a boyfriend from the wrong side of the tracks.

While immersed in her current case, Jo is battling her own personal demons. After two years, she is still grieving over the loss of her husband, who was killed in the line of duty. New information that could help solve his murder, and let her move on with her life, is within her grasp.

Barricading her heart, Jo is determined to solve both cases and bring the killers to justice.”

Author:

“Debbie S. TenBrink grew up on a farm in West Michigan, where her family has lived for over 150 years. She still lives within five miles of her childhood home with her husband, four children, and dog, Mojo (who is the only real-life character in her book). She has a Master’s degree in career and technical education, and she taught computer classes in two local colleges before beginning her current career as a software specialist for a law firm. In her free time, Debbie enjoys camping, hiking, sports, and any other activity she can use as an excuse to spend time in the great outdoors. Other hobbies include reading (of course), having long conversations with the characters living in her head, and an almost frightening interest in true crime TV shows. Her passion for writing began in childhood with short stories and poetry, and she can’t remember a time when she didn’t know that she would someday write a novel.”

Appraisal:

This is book one of the Jo Riskin Mystery series and it appears to be Debbie TenBrink’s first book. What a great start. I’m ready for book two now.

Police procedurals have been a genre I’ve enjoyed reading over the years. After reading this book and trying to put my finger on why I liked it I came up with two big reasons.

The first reason is the obvious one. The mystery at the root of the case (or for this book, the two cases) that the protagonist is trying to solve needs to hit the right balance. It can’t be too obvious. If you’re convinced you know whodunit shortly after the book starts and you turn out to be correct, the book isn’t going to work. But the opposite, a last second twist that you could have never seen coming, maybe a random person walking off the street and confessing, is even worse. Warped Ambition hit that balance. The answer wasn’t obvious, but the clues were there. (I won’t say any more to avoid spoiling the story.)

The second thing that occurred to me was that I liked Jo Riskin and her partner Lynae and when I explored why I realized that it was because of their imperfections. They’re human. Imagine a detective who is perfect. They wouldn’t struggle. They wouldn’t misinterpret something. They’d never make any missteps. And books with this mythical perfect detective would bore the reader to death. It’s the imperfections of the detectives and their fighting through their own issues to get to the solution that make the story work. If sometimes we get to the answer before the detective, all the better. (I didn’t this time, but it wasn’t because the clues weren’t there.) Ms. TenBrink has a winner with Jo and Lynae. Yup. I’m ready for the next one now.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: Hummingbird by Joshua John Taylor

Genre: Short Story Collection

Description:

A collection of seven short stories described as dealing with “the connection between all things.”

Author:

This is the first book from author Joshua John Taylor, who “hails from the Valley of the Sun.” (That’s probably the Phoenix area for the uninitiated.)

Appraisal:

None of the stories in this collection were quite like short stories I’ve read in the past. The main “character” in the first story of the collection, The Overture and the Epilogue, was a tree that didn’t take any action without an assist from the elements, yet it illustrated the cycle of life and I liked the evocative language the author used throughout this story. I didn’t even need the hint from the book’s description telling me these stories were about “the connection between all things” to understand this story or the point.

However, too many of the stories, starting with By the Wayside, the second story in the collection, left me scratching my head, saying “well that was interesting, but what was the point supposed to be?” Maybe I’m too dense. Maybe the point was too subtle. I don’t know.

I also found way too many proofing and copy editing problems. I stumbled across more issues of that type than I would find acceptable in a novel length work and this collection is roughly 25% the size of the smallest novels.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Way more typos and other proofing and copy editing issues than a book this size should have.

Rating: *** Three Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 9-10,000 words